Modern looks gaining strength in home office
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, April 6, 2008
High Point — Based on the focused nature of home office introductions this market, furniture companies can certainly be said to be buckling down and trying hard to make an impression with retailers.
Home office vendors are introducing a lot more modern looks this time. There's a question, though, whether this is being done to appeal to an established niche in the market or to target future demand from younger consumers.
This market, Hooker and Stanley are both featuring impressive peninsula setups and modular configurations that lean toward contemporary, and they're joined by companies like Hekman with its transitional Asher Benjamin collection.
But modern isn't the only theme. Curves and circles pop up in many introductions this market, and home office is no exception.
Riverside features oval motifs on the hutches and hardware of its new Locus home office. Stanley's Continuum and some of Universal Furniture's introductions include curved writing desks.
Lexington Home Brands' new Palisades writing desk, part of the Hancock collection, features an oval shape with lots of style, including a sunburst veneer patterned top, Cognac finish and scalloped carvings.
At the higher end, companies like Habersham and Marge Carson are bringing out French styles.
It also appears that the glut of dark espresso finishes found at recent markets may be giving way to lighter colors.
Perhaps the most impressive array of new home office introductions this season comes from Hooker. Its introductions include Small Office Solutions, a line of laptop desks and other small pieces for space-challenged consumers in two flavors — one for women and the other for city dwellers.
Rosabella, targeted to women, features a highly decorative oyster finish with subtle brushstrokes as well as hand-painted accents. It also offers special touches such as a purse shelf.
The smaller scaled Small Office Solutions' desks have a 48-inch footprint. The desks feature two charging areas, on the desk and in the hutch. Hutches also can accommodate a 42-inch plasma or LCD monitor.
"Executive is a strength of ours and we definitely have had success," said Hank Long, senior vice president of merchandising and design at Hooker. "But the focus tends to be the smaller office right now."
Hooker's new modular Urban Lodge collection, previewed to retailers at premarket, features a very transitional, scaled down look with a rustic feel that's suitable for both cabins and city lofts. Horizontal planked doors and a light cinnamon finish on swirly birch veneers with light distressing give the group a relaxed feel.
"I was concerned (about) the 'rusticness' of the finish," said Long. "We kind of stumbled into something good because people love the rustic nature of that finish and that cinnamon color.
"Premarket confirmed that our direction was right," he added. "We've done great with the smaller laptop computer desks and hutches. And Urban Lodge looks like its going to be a success."
Hekman is making a major contemporary style statement with its Asher Benjamin collection, designed by Peter and Meg Strattner, creators of the Crate and Barrel look. The clean-lined design for Hekman features American Cherry veneers with walnut accents and a natural cherry finish.
Retailers have been requesting more modern looks, said Neil McKenzie, Hekman's vice president of product development.
"Not to say that the traditional look is going away, it's just that there is a niche in the marketplace that is evolving and becoming more evident as this customer gains economic power," McKenzie said.
"I think what's happening is we're slowly seeing a transition to another generation of potential customers. It's a customer who is more interested in an urban lifestyle within their home than an actual urban geographic location. It's cleaner lines, cleaner finishes and less encumbered."
McKenzie added that Hekman still sees lots of customers who want more traditional home office looks and scaling. But he said that creating more modern looks with a compact scale, a good functionality story and clean lines makes sense in this changing market — without compromising quality.
Like Hooker and Aspenhome with its small-scaled Kensington home office introduction, Hekman continues the push into smaller functional desks this market, offering 48-inch and 60-inch footprints.
Those sets feature classic traditional and transitional designs, but are scaled down.
"I've had customers saying they've seen a transition in customers desiring smaller desks. Is it the economy where a smaller desk is less expensive? I don't know. We know the request is real and it's going from coast-to-coast," McKenzie said.
Another major new collection with a crossover appeal comes from Stanley Collections. The company's 11-piece Continuum home office pairs contemporary design elements like a perimeter frame case with no overhang on the top along with traditional overlay moldings on the drawer fronts.
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Modern looks gaining strength in home office
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